Puffing gun



H. L. HAYDEN PUFFING GUN A. Apri114, 1942.

v Filed July` 24. 1940 5 Sheets-sheet 1 ill April 1.4, 1942- H. L. HAYDEN I 2,279,868

n PUFFING GUN l A Filed July 24, 1940 v 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Mo Y I' l vfnvenzop H. L. HAYDEN PUFFING GUN .April 14, 1942.

Filed July 24, 1940 5 Sheets-Sheet 3v gem - April 14, 1942. H L HA'YDEN 2,279,868

PUFFING GUN Filed July 24, 1940 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 Patented Apr., 14g

PUFFING GUN I Howard L. Hayden, Minneapolis, Minn., asusignor to General Mills, Inc.,` a corporation of Del- Application July 24, 1940, Serial No. 347,225

6 Claims.

This invention relates to pulling guns. An object of the invention is the provision of means for readily charging and dischargingl puffing guns.

Another object is to simplify and improve the` construction and operation of puiiingguns generally.

These and other objects as will hereinafter appear are fully described in the following specication and shown in the accompanyingr drawings ln which:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the pumng gun during charging showing certain of the partsremoved or in section;

Fig. 2 is a partialperspective of the charging mechanism;

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Figure 1 showing the pufling gun closed during the heating operation;

Fig. 3B' is a partial reduced end view of the gun: A .l

Fig. 4 isa similar view of the puifling gun at the instant of discharge;

. Fig. 5 is a partial section on the line 5-5 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is a vertical section through the frame of the pufling gun showing a portion of the carriage in the position of Fig. 4, but with the gun barrel removed;

Fig. 7 is a partial enlarged section on the line 1 of Fig. 3 showing a cross sectional view of the gun barrel and carriage and the mounting for the same;

Fig. 8' is a detail of the standard taken on the line' 8-8 of Fig. 6;

Fig. 9 is a schematic diagram showing means for heating the puffing gun barrel, the electric controls andthe like; and

Fig. 10 is a partial enlarged section through the breech of thegunbarrel.

'I'he embodiment illustrated comprises a puffing gun having a'standard II comprising spaced bottom members I2 (Fig. 6) connected by tubular members I3, -I4 and having vertical standards I5 to the tops of which are secured bearings I6 in which are journalledtrunnions I1 firmly operably connected to a shaft 25 which is journailed in the bearing 2li. Above the ring 22 (Fig. -3`) is a member 26 which is arcuate inside to hold the ring 22 in 'place when the carriage isinverted as shown in Figure 1. It also prevents any upward movementof the gun barrel at the instant of firing. It will be understood,'of course, that during this vtime the gun barrel is not in rotation and that it rotates only when in the horizontal position shown in Fig. 3 at which.y

time it rests upon the rollers 23.

The gun barrel is closed by a lid or cover which .is hingedly connected to twol spaced beams 3'I and pin 32, the beams being hlngediy connected by means of a shaft 33 to an extension 34 at the side of the gun barrel. `The beams 3I have at their outer ends toggleseats 38 adapted to receive'the rounded ends of the spaced toggle arms 39 which are made rotatable about pins I '40 extending in opposite directions from a trip lever 4I, the latter being pivotably mounted at 42 at the `side of the gunbarrel. As shown in Fig. 9, the lid is tightly locked'in closed position.

The mechanism vfor rotating'the gun barrel in the carriage is also shown in Fig. 9 and comprises a worm wheel 45 keyed to the shaft 25 and driven by suitable reducing gearing from a motor 46.

Forming no part of the present invention, the gun barrel asshown is heated by a series of gas burners 41. (Fig. 5 and 7) which are located in the space 48 (Fig. 9) between the gun barrel proper V5'Il and theouter housing 5I which also preferably inc/:loses heat insulating material 52.

7 A combustible mixture of gas for these burners is supplied thereto through a series of pipes 53 (Fig.` 5) from a centrallyiocated housing 54 I which is stationary and which connects through secured to the opposite sides of the carriage I8.

This carriage is open at the discharge end but closed at the opposite en d Aby a member I9 in which is provideda bearing 20 (Fig. 9).

A puinggun barrel shown generally as 2| is provided at its forward end with a 4ring 22 which, during the rotation of the gunV barrel, rests upon two rollers 23 which are carried by a transverse member 24 forming part of the carriage, the opposite end of the gun barrel being a pipe 55- (Fig. 9), a short hose 56,'a`rota1'y joint 51another short hose 5,8 with a gas `mixing valve 59 which is supplied with a combustible gas through a line 60 and with air through a line 6 I. The line 60 is controlled by means of a valve 62 and the line 6I by a valve 63. The operation of these valves will later be described.

Referring to Fig. 10, the end 'of' the gun barrel 50a and the shaft 25 are drilled to'provide a longitudinal opening 'Ill'which connects through a suitable rotary joint 'II withinI pipe 'I2vand 1 3, thence through one of the:y journals I1 and 'through a flexible tube I4 to apressure 'gauge 15. The latter is preferably located. .where it is readily visible to the operator so that he'is informed at all times as to the pressure within the .puffing gun, A relief valve 1S ispreferably in.-y

' tion for discharge.

the machine and at the other connects through al lead 84 to an -insulatcdbrush 85. This brush lies in the path ofthe terminal of a` spark plug 88. This spark plug has its points extending into the space 48 where they are surrounded by the combustible'mixture to be ignited so that when ythe machine is in operation the spark plug is energized several times on each revolution of the rotating puffing gun bar-rel as the terminal of the spark plug comes in contact with .the

brush, thereby ignitingthe mixture within the combustion space`48. l

The leads 8| and 83 are also suitably connected through leads180, 8| to the motor 48 and the leads 8|, 83 al'so connect with suitable solenoids 92, 83 which control the 'action-oi' the valves 82, 63.

Thus it will be seen that on closing the switch 82 the motor 46 becomes energized and causes the gun barrel to be' rotated, lat the same time the solenoids 82 and 83 become energized thereby opening the gas and airvalves 82 and 83 thereby permitting a combustible` mixture to be i'ed into the combustion space 48 and at the same timethe spark coil P-S becomesenergized thereby energizing the brush 85 andcausing the spark' plug 85.to emit a succession, of sparks at a given point on each revolutonlto. ignite the combustible mixture., This operation continues until the operator sees by the pressure gauge 15 that the pressure within thepufllng gun has` reached a point at which the gun should be discharged.

' He thereupon opens the switch 82' at the proper time to bring the gunibarrel into the proper posi- This yhe does as will later be described,v

In Figs. 1, 3 and 4 are shown the principal operating positions of the puffing gun. `'I'hus in Figure 1 the machine is in the position for filling in which the muzzle 58" of the gun barrel is turned toward the operator for filling and is pointed upwardlyatan angleof about 15 from the horizontal..V

Forfease of lling, I have provided a chute containing the material 0| to be puffed and beneath this isa lmetering chamber |02 having ,sIiding 'gate valves` |03.' |04 -reversely operative bymeans of a lever |05 hingedly mounted at |08. Inclined blocks |01V and |08 are located Just above .these va1ves.'.A flexible chute |08 is securedtd the bottom of the chamber |02 and is easilyV movable by-"the operator into the' position shown in Figure 1- in which it directs the material y'passing through it into th muzzle, of the pulling gun.-

' 1 Thus it will be noted that with the parts in the position Vs'hown inFigure l, the valve |04 closes the opening at thebottomof the metering chamber while the top is open.V To discharge the ma-V terialuinto the gun, the operator pulls the lever |05 to the right thereby opening the valve at'the bottom ofthe metering chamber and closing the valve at the topif The material within the meter- -ing chamber"y |02 thereby passes through the chute |09-into the puffing' gun. The operator promptly pushesvthe lever |05 to the left, open- In order to position the gun barrel for nlling I have provided a bar ||5 (Figure 1) which in this position strikes a' rubber pad |8 which serves as a stop for the movement of the swing of the gun barrel in this direction. `Upon filling the gun barrel, the chute |08 is swung back to one Iside where it normally hangs at the side of the gun. The operator then closes the lid 88 by means of the lid beams 3| and locks them in place by means of the toggle arms 88 4and the trip lever 4|, the latter being forced into place by means of a suitable operating lever which the operator uses for this purpose and which is not show-n as it is not secured to the mechanism. As soon as the lid is properly closed the operator promptly rocks the gun barrel in a counterclockwise direction from theA position shown in Figure 1 to the position in Fig. 3.' As soon as it reaches the position of Fig. 3, he closes thev switch 82 (Fig. 9) thereby causing the pulling gun to be rotated and passing a combustible mixture to the combustion chamber 48, at the same time providf ing the v alve atthe top of the metering chamy bei' and 'closing thevalve at the bottoml-thereby ing a spark for the ignition of the mixture. As

this mixture burns, the gun barrel is uniformly heated throughout and after -a few minutes the pressure therein rapidly rises. Experience soon shows the pressure at which the material to be puffed should be released for best results.

When this point is reachedthe operator opens the switch 82 thereby stopping the* rotation of the pufng -gun so that a small indicator |28 (Fig. 3) stops at the uppermost position in front of a stationary sight |2| to insure that the trip lever 4| will be in the proper position for tripping. This tripping mechanism will now be described.

Referring to Figs. 3 and 6, a standard |25 at each side of the base carries a shaft |28 towhich is secured a trip nger |21. The shaft |28 carries a lever |28 which is normally pulled down Iby a spring |28 so that it rests upon an ear The lever |3| carries a link |88 which is movable up and down in suitable supports |84 hingedly mounted on the standard I5 at |84l and is provided at its top with a pointed end |35 which, in the position shown in Fig. 3. enters a corresponding notch |88 in a cam |81 which is carried bythe carriage 8. A spring |38 pulls the lever |3| up so as to force upwardly the link |38. As the carriage I8 is moved` soos to'move the cam |31 entirely away from thel upper end of the link |88, the spring |88 bevcornes free to vmove the trip ringer |21 back so that it will be 4out of the way of the -left-hand end of the carriage of Figure l so thatthe carriage then can pass the trip nger without en- `gaging it.

In. order for the trip lever 4| to lengage the tripflnger |21 the carriage on being rocked in a counter-clockwise direction,- iri Fig. 3, will cause the tapered outer end 4|"of the trip lever toengage the inclined `upper face of the trip .|51 gradually to rest.

linger and the latter will yield to permit the trip lever to pass. lHaving passed, the operator then rocks the carriage back in a clockwise direction at ,which time the outer end of the .trip lever 8| engages the under edge of the' trip linger |21, thereby rocking the trip lever` about the pin 32 until the toggle arms 33 are rotated somewhat in a counter-clockwise direction, after which the pressure within the gun forces the lid beams 3| outwardly with great force. -This force must be absorbed in order to prevent the mechanism from being wrecked. I have accordingly provided a mechanism for absorbing this energy and this mechanism will now be described.

A U-shaped recoil lever |40 has at its ends trunnions |3011 journalled in bearings |4017 on brackets on the carriage |8. These trunnions are in axial alignment with the shaft 33. This lever carries a pin IM on which .is mounted a rubber sleeve |52 which sleeve is adapted t'o be engaged by arcuate surfaces |33 onthe lid beams 3| so that the lid beams and the recoil lever |50 have a tendency to oscillate together about the axis of the shaft 33. A break lever ld is keyed to each of the trunnions |400. and has4 pivotally connected at its lower end a stili spring |65 and at the other end a plunger rod |56, the opposite end of which is secured to a plunger which is fitted within a cylinder |48, the latter being pivotally mounted at; |80 to a bracket |50 on the carriage. The cylinder |48 is illled with oil or the like and has atapered groove i5! formed at one side, the deep end of. the longitudinal groove being at the outer end, as shown, and tapering oil"y to nothing near the inner end of the cylinder so that as the plunger Idl descends lt will encounter constantly increasing resistance thereby bringing the plunger At the same time, the trip lever di strikes a rubber sleeve |d2.

Thus it will be seen that the pressure of the discharge exerted on the lid 30 is transferred through the lid beams 3| to the recoil lever |40 and thence through the trunnions |00a to the springs |85 and to the plungers N1. As the latter are forced down, the springs |45 are extended and as soon as the force of the discharge is spent on the plunger, these springs tend to return the operatively connected recoil lever to the vnormal position as shown in Fig. 3. point,to whichthe gun barrel can be pointed down, as shown in Fig. 4, is limited by the stop bar |55 which strikes the rubber buffer S1.

A shield |60 is mounted on the carriage in front of the gun barrel which serves to protect the operator who stands at the right of the machine, as shown in Fig. 3, from the heat of the gun as well as protecting him from any flying particles should breakage occur and it also serves to prevent the material pulled from being blown back in his face. At the forward end of the machine is located an apron |6| which extends across the gun and to this is hingedly mounted apron sections |62 and |63. The latter rides up on an inclinedplate |66 as shown in Fig. 4 during the instant of discharge. This flexible apron serves to prevent the puffed material from being blown back under the machine and directs it forward toward a chute into which the gun discharges, the chute not being shown.

While I have shown` and described but a single embodiment of my invention, it is to be understoodl that it is capable of many modifications.

The

Changes, therefore1 may be made which do. not 75 depart from the spirit and scope of my invention as disclosed in the appended claims.

I claim as my invention: l. In a pulling gun, a frame, a carriage having trunnions journalled in the main frame, a

gun barrel journalled in said vcarriage to rotate about its longitudinal axis, means for rotating the gun barrel about its longitudinal axis while in a horizontal position, means for heating the gun barrel, means for closing the muzzle of the gun barrel, a trip release for the closing means', and means for yieldably holding the gun barrel in the horizontal position, the carriage and gun barrel being rotatable about the trunnions downwardly to engage the trip release so that the next upward movement of the gun barrel will cause the trip to release the closing means.

2. In a pulling gun, a frame, a carriage having trunnions journalled in the main frame, a gun barrel journalled in said carriage to rotate about its longitudinal axis, means for rotating the gun barrely about its longitudinal axis while in a horizontal position, means for heating the gun barrel, means for closing the muzzle of the gun barrel, a trip release for the closing means, the carriage and gun barrel being rotatable about the trunnions downwardly to discharge, and a filling spout, the gun being then rotatable in the reverse direction to a position where the muzzle of the gun is beneath the filling spout for lling the gun and'where the closing means is accessible to an operator.

3. In a pulling gun, a frame, a carriage having trunnions journalled in the frame, a gun barrel journalled in said carriage to rotate about its longitudinal axis, means for rotating the gun barrel about its longitudinal axis while in a horizontal position, means for heating the gun barrel, means for closing the muzzle of the gun barrel, a trip release for the closing means, the carriage and gun barrel being rotatable about the trunnions downwardly to engage the trip yrelease so that the next upward movement of the gun barrel will cause the trip to release the closing means, and a lling spout located substantially opposite the open end of the gun at discharge, the gun being then rotatable through about half a revolution in the opposite direction to a position where the muzzle of the gun is beneath the barrel, a trip release for the closing means, the

carriage and gun barrel being rotatable about the trunnions downwardly to discharge, and a flexible kapron carried by thegun barrel and which hangs below the gun when in the firing position to prevent material discharged from the gun from being blown back under the gun barrel.

5. In a pufling gun, a frame, a carriage having trunnions journalled in the main frame, a gun barrel journalled in said carriage to rotate about its longitudinal axis, means for rotating the gun barrel about its longitudinal axis while in a horizontal position, means'for heating the gun barrel, means for closing the muzzle of the gun barrel, a trip release for the closing means, the carriage and gun barrel beingrotatable about barrel jouralled in said carriage to rotate about the trunnions downwardly to discharge, and an its lonsitudlnal axisymexms for rotmtinx the gun apron made up o! sti!! sheets hinsedly secured barrel about its lonzitudlnnl axis while in l, horitogether and carried by the gun barrel and which zontal position. mesns tor heating the gun bnrhangs below the gun when in the nrin's position rel, means tor closinz the muzzle o! tho gun barto prevent material discharged fromv the sun rel, l trip release for the cllnt means. a. cam from being blown back under the gun barrel. carried by the carrise andhavinl s notch, and. a

s. m e pumng gun, e frame. a. een-risse havin: spring-pressed detent adapted to ensue the trunnions journalledln the main frame, a. gun notch for yieldlbly, holdinl the gun barrel in horizontal position.

. HOWARD L HAYDEN. 

